Heartbroken in Hollow Bastion
by nozomi.no.uta
Summary: A KH twist on "Sleepless in Seattle." A year and a half after the death of Imani's father-figure, Tifa finds herself having a heart-to-heart on radio station Arpeggio 101.3...which some meddling spiky-haired teens catch wind of. AU, OC


**Author's Comments: **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! This is a little one-shot inspired by _Sleepless in Seattle_, one of my favorite movies ever. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Kingdom Hearts_ or Facebook. I own Imani.

* * *

><p>"You're listening to Arpeggio 101.3. I'm Myde and I'm here to talk with you about whatever's weighing on your heart tonight. Let's take a call. We have someone on the line from right here in Hollow Bastion. Hello."<p>

"Hello."

"What's your name?"

"Imani."

"Imani? You sound pretty young to be calling us, Imani. How old are you?"

"I'm six."

"Is there something weighing on your little heart tonight?"

"It's my daddy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I miss him."

"Does he live far away?"

"No, he died."

A pause. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Imani. You must be very sad."

"I am, but Mommy is more heartbroken than I am."

"What makes you say that?"

"She sighs a lot and doesn't smile as often anymore. I don't like seeing her sad."

"Is your mommy with you right now?"

"She's in the kitchen."

"Well, I'd really like to help you and your mommy, Imani, but I'm going to need your help. Could you put Mommy on the phone so I can talk to her?"

"What are you going to say to her?"

"I'd like to talk to her about your daddy."

"But she doesn't like talking about him."

"I think she'll want to know about this. I'm sure she doesn't want to see you sad."

A pause. "If she gets mad at me, I'm never listening to your show again."

A laugh. "Alright, fair enough."

* * *

><p>A tiny hand tugged at her sleeve. "Mommy, there's someone on the phone for you."<p>

Tifa tore her eyes away from the ledger on the table and glanced up. Imani held the off-white receiver out for her with an expectant look. "Who is it?" she asked the girl.

Imani hesitated, ducking her head and darting her eyes away. "Someone who wants to talk to you."

Tifa watched her carefully for a few moments. Imani wasn't one to be cryptic; she was too young for that. Was she up to something?

When Imani nudged her with the phone, Tifa finally took it from her and brought to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Myde from Arpeggio 101.3," a mild voice spoke.

She blinked. "O-Okay…"

"Your daughter Imani called because she is concerned about how you're handling the death of your husband. I'd like to talk to you more about this since she's worried that you're very sad."

She straightened in her seat. "Wait. Who's this?"

"Myde from Arpeggio 101.3. You're on the air."

Her heart fell to her stomach. On the air? As in, people were listening to her right now? As in, this was being broadcast to a bunch of strangers?

She turned the receiver into her shoulder and hissed to Imani, "You called a _radio show?_"

The girl shrank a few inches under her stare. When she started to try slinking away, Tifa snatched her tiny wrist. What was she thinking?

"Hello?" Myde's voice beckoned from her shoulder. "Are you still with me?"

Reluctantly, Tifa returned the phone to her ear. "Y-Yes."

"Now, before you decide to hang up on me," the voice went on, "let me just say that I understand if you feel hesitant to talk about something this personal to you."

Most definitely. Tifa was sorely tempted to hang up right then and there.

"At the same time, I don't think Imani would have called me if she hadn't felt very worried about your wellbeing. I think that talking about this would make Imani feel better. I would really like to help the both of you."

Myde's calm voice loosened the apprehension in her chest, but hesitation still gnawed at her. "Look, I appreciate your concern for Imani, but…"

A little hand rested on Tifa's. She glanced to the side and found her dark eyes pleading with her. "Please, Mommy?" Imani begged.

Her heart and her resolve quickly broke under Imani's stare. With a sigh, she released the girl's wrist and patted her head. "Alright," she answered Myde. "Let's talk for a little bit."

"Okay. To start, how recently did your husband pass away?"

"About a year and a half ago. And he's not my husband. He's my cousin."

"O-Oh."

She couldn't help cracking a smile at the barely-muted shock in Myde's voice. "Imani's not actually our daughter, either. We kind of adopted her together."

"I see." Relief and understanding smoothed the shock out of his voice. "Well, from what Imani told me, it sounds like you and your cousin were very close."

"We were. He was practically my brother."

"What's the hardest part about having him gone?"

He'd asked it gently enough, but the question still shot a pang of pain through her heart. Tifa breathed in deeply, glancing at Imani once more. "That's just it. He's gone. He…Zack…"

She stopped herself. Her throat was beginning to close up.

"Take your time," Myde coaxed. "I know this must be difficult."

"Mommy?"

Tifa gathered the little girl in her arms. "He was what held us together when we felt like we were falling apart," she murmured once she was sure her voice wouldn't waver. "Imani lost her family when she was very little and Zack and I took her in and…it was tough. At the time, we didn't know anything about raising a little girl. We almost lost her to CPS, but…Zack fought for her. If it weren't for him…"

"How do you think Imani is handling everything?"

"She misses him."

"Do you think finding another father figure for her would help her? Not to replace Zack, of course."

"Of course." She ran her fingers through Imani's short hair. Another sigh escaped her. "She deserves a family."

"She has you."

"Well, yes…but sometimes I feel like I'm not enough for her."

"In that case, have you thought about marrying someone who could fill that gap in your family?"

She shook her head with a sad laugh. "I couldn't possibly date anyone right now. Imani's my whole world. Everything I do is for her."

"I see. Well, just remember that by taking care of yourself, you're also strengthening your ability to take care of Imani. That includes taking care of your heart."

Tifa hummed noncommittally. He might have had a point, but…

"Well, thank you for your time. I know this must have been tough for you and I know Imani appreciates you talking to me. If you ever feel like talking again, don't hesitate to call."

"Thank you, Myde." She hung up the phone, setting it down on the table and shifting the tiny girl who'd fallen asleep in her arms. That was definitely not a conversation she'd expected to have, especially not with a stranger and not on a radio show.

For the second time, her heart dropped. The color drained from her face. Oh God, she'd shared all of that on a _radio show_. She really hoped no one she knew was listening.

* * *

><p>"That was Heartbroken in Hollow Bastion, and that's all the time we have for tonight, folks. I'm Myde from Arpeggio 101.3. Thank you for listening and have a good night."<p>

* * *

><p>He faintly registered the sound of Roxas shuffling into the garage above his buzzing and tinkering with Fenrir. Roxas took a seat on the ground next to him, crossing his legs and keeping his eyes glued to his phone. "Cloud, listen to this."<p>

Cloud resisted the urge to roll his eyes and braced himself for another ridiculous oddball story about some guy claiming his lamp held a thousand-year-old genie or about some recluse chick who refused to cut her hair.

"No, seriously, listen to this." Roxas cleared his throat. "_Phone service was nearly shut down following an onslaught of callers to local radio station Arpeggio 101.3 for a caller nicknamed Heartbroken in Hollow Bastion._ Weird, huh?"

Sora's quick pattering followed Roxas' words as the brunet squatted on the other side of Cloud. "Whoa! I heard that last night!" he exclaimed. "And I know exactly who that was!"

"Really? Who?"

"It was Teef."

He fought to keep a straight face as he felt his heart stop. Tifa?

"_Teef_ called Arpeggio 101.3?"

"No, _Imani_ called for Teef and then Teef started talking about Zack. It was kinda depressing."

His jaw tightened. Those were three names he didn't expect to hear in this conversation.

"Teef talked about Zack? Teef never talks about Zack."

"She did last night."

"What'd she say?"

Sora's jacket shifted as he shrugged. "Nothing we don't already know. She still misses Zack and is worried about how Imani's coping."

He set down his wrench to grab his towel and water bottle. He figured as much, even though he could never find the guts to ask Tifa how she was doing. It'd been a year and a half since Zack died and Tifa always put up a strong front for Imani…but…

"Why were there so many callers asking for her, then?"

"I heard they wanted her number so they could try to hook up with her."

Cloud nearly choked on his water.

"Seriously? That's kinda messed up."

"No kidding. There are some pretty desperate people out there, huh?"

"Did you know it's easier to be killed by a terrorist than it is for women to find a husband once they've passed forty?"

"What's that got to do with anything? Teef won't have a problem finding a husband."

"True. And she can kick a terrorist's ass any day."

Cloud was beginning to feel a headache building up behind his eyes.

"Oh, so what're you going to do about this, Cloud?"

The teens on either side of him craned their necks to eye him expectantly. He arched an eyebrow at them. What did they mean?

Roxas huffed. "Don't play dumb. Now Teef's got the attention of all the guys in Arpeggio 101.3's broadcast radius on top of the guys who go to Seventh Heaven. You gotta make your move or else she'll get stolen away from you."

He didn't need to make a move. Teef could handle those guys on her own.

"It's not about whether she can handle them or not," Sora told him with a shake of his head. "After last night's talk with Myde, my guess is she'll actually be looking for Imani's sake."

"Yeah. You know." Roxas arched an eyebrow. "For father material."

"Are you father material, Cloud?"

"Imani likes you well enough, sure, but…"

"It's important for fathers to talk regularly with their daughters."

"Yeah. You definitely need to work on that. Open and clear communication is key in father-daughter relationships."

Cloud's other eyebrow rose to meet the first. Open and clear communication, huh?

They leaned toward him. "Why don't you try it out on us?"

"Yeah. Say something."

After a moment of thought, he set his water bottle down. "Get out of my garage or I'll kick both your asses," he murmured.

The pair of teens blinked before leaning away, completely unfazed. "Well, he's got the clear part down," Sora said with a shrug.

Roxas shook his head. "That's not the way to talk to young and impressionable girls, Cloud. This is your daughter we're talking about—"

"_Get. Out_." He sent both of them an icy glare.

Immediately, the teens scrambled to their feet and dashed to the door.

* * *

><p>"DADDY!"<p>

The cry from Imani's room sent Tifa's blood racing. Throwing her book to the side, she bolted out of bed and raced down the hall. "Honey, it's okay. I'm coming."

"DADDY! Daddy…"

"Imani, honey, I'm here." She opened the door and rushed to Imani's bedside. "It's okay."

The girl's wide panicked eyes landed on her. She whimpered, "Mommy…"

"Shh…I'm here." Tifa wiped the tears from Imani's face and pulled her close. "Did you have a bad dream?"

She nodded. "There was fire everywhere and I couldn't move…"

She ran her fingers through her hair, rocking her back and forth. "You're safe. It was just a dream."

They sat in the quiet bedroom for what felt like hours. Imani's small hands clung to the sleeves of Tifa's old t-shirt. Tifa could feel Imani shake as she struggled to catch her breath between sobs.

Eventually, her sobs died down enough for her to mumble, "I miss him."

Tifa kissed her forehead. "I know, honey. I miss him, too."

"Why did he have to die?"

She hesitated, biting her lip with another sigh. "I don't know. Do you feel lonely without him?"

Imani nodded into her shoulder.

Silence settled around them once more. Tifa continued to run her fingers through Imani's hair. Zack was always the one who stayed up to soothe Imani since he knew how exhausted Tifa got after a long night at Seventh Heaven. She knew Zack cherished those late nights sitting on the floor next to her bed, brushing her bangs out of her face and watching her drift back to sleep.

She wondered if he missed them, too, wherever he was.

Her eyes wandered to the picture sitting on Imani's bedside table. She studied Zack's smiling face as he held Imani in his arms. "What should we do?" she whispered to him.

He just smiled back.

With a sigh, she tore her eyes away and looked down at the girl in her arms. "Honey?"

Imani breathed deeply against her shoulder. She'd fallen asleep.

A tiny smile crept onto her face. Tifa gently laid Imani back onto her bed, pulling the covers over her and kissing her forehead one last time before slipping out.

Maybe…it was time to start looking.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Cloud. You have to do something."<p>

Cloud stifled a sigh as he wiped down Fenrir's exhaust pipes. Damn Sora and Roxas still wouldn't shut up about that dumb radio show. Didn't they have better things to do than crowd around him in his garage and nag him like this?

"Do you realize how popular she is? Look, she has her own Facebook fan page." Sora shoved his phone in front of Cloud's face and started scrolling with his thumb. "People have been leaving phone numbers and email addresses nonstop since the page was created. She's got thousands of followers already and the number keeps going up."

"They're even leaving messages on the wall." Roxas reached over his shoulder to point at the phone screen. "Look: _Hi Heartbroken in Hollow Bastion, you have the most amazing voice I've ever heard. I hope to hear more of it soon. Call me._"

Sora shuddered. "Yeesh. Creeper alert."

Cloud couldn't help grimacing. Someone actually had the gall to post something that blatant to a stranger? There wasn't even a picture of Tifa on the webpage…thankfully. That probably would've increased the onslaught of stalkers tenfold.

Not that Cloud was concerned. Of course not. The whole thing was ridiculous.

A hand clapped his shoulder solidly on either side. "Cloud, you _have_ to do something," Roxas demanded him on his left.

"_Please_," Sora begged on his right. "For Teef's sake. And for Imani's. You don't want Imani getting a creep for a new dad, do you?"

"You have to protect them. Be a man and marry Teef."

"Or at least offer to help weed out the creeps."

He didn't respond. Tifa didn't need him to protect her. She could take care of herself and Imani perfectly well without him. She knew better than to settle for any random jackass.

His hands slowed. She knew better…right?

"Dammit, Cloud. Don't make me call Myde and complain about you."

"Your nickname could be _Hopeless in Hollow Bastion_. You'll have your own Facebook fan page and tons of rabid fangirls stalking you."

Maybe…it was time to do something.

* * *

><p>She frowned at her reflection. She didn't remember her dress being this short…and the heels of her shoes were kind of skinny. Did she look like she was trying too hard?<p>

"Do you _have_ to go?"

Tifa caught sight of Imani standing in the doorway through the mirror. "It's just dinner," she said, turning to the girl and offering a reassuring smile. "I won't be gone long. Aren't you happy you'll get to play with Roxas and Sora?"

Imani pouted. "I don't like that man."

Tifa sighed. It amazed her how determined Imani's focus could be. "Honey, you probably might not like any of the guys I try to see because they won't be Daddy. There won't be a completely perfect fit for us, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try getting to know them."

"What about Uncle Cloud?"

Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of the spiky blond's name. "Uncle Cloud?"

"I like Uncle Cloud," Imani said, tilting her head to one side. "Don't you?"

"Of course I do. He's a very good friend of mine."

"Then why won't you marry him?"

"Because we're just friends."

And because he could never feel the same way she felt about him. But that was beside the point.

"Oh," she murmured, her shoulders falling dejectedly.

The doorbell rang before Tifa could dwell on Imani's disappointed look or the weird pang in her chest. "Oh, look. Sora and Roxas are here." She turned Imani around and guided her to the front door.

Two smiling spiky-haired teens greeted them when they opened the door. "Hey Teef. Hiya, Imani."

"Hi," Imani mumbled. Her shoulders were still sagging.

"Aw, don't look like that." Sora took her hand. "We're gonna have lots of fun tonight. I brought all my _Starseekers_ DVDs for us to watch."

She perked up. "Really?"

As Sora and Imani wandered into the living room, Roxas gave Tifa a smile. "You look nice."

"Thanks." She shut the door behind him. "I have dinner ready in the fridge. Just heat it up for a few minutes whenever you get hungry. Make sure Imani's in bed by nine."

"Okay. By the way, we checked your mail on the way here."

"Oh, thanks." She took the envelopes from Roxas and flipped through them. Bills, bills, credit card promotions…and a letter addressed to someone named…Heartbroken in Hollow Bastion.

Tifa stared at the letter. What the…?

"What's that?"

"N-Nothing!" She leapt a few inches away from him, grabbing her purse and rushing out. "I've got to go. Food in fridge, bed at nine. Thanks! I love you, Imani!"

Her heart pounded as she raced to her car, fumbling with the keys and barely making it inside before letting out a long, shaky breath. Who the heck had written to her? And why? How did the writer know her address? Had Imani given it out over the phone?

She sat in her car for what felt like hours. A tiny voice in the back of her mind kept reminding her that she had a dinner to go to, but all she could do was stare at the letter in her lap. There was someone waiting on her…and it was rude to be late to appointments like this…

Ah, but there was no way she would get through that dinner with the letter sitting in her car, unopened…waiting for her…containing God knows what.

Her finger slipped under the envelope flap and extracted the letter. She carefully unfolded it and began reading. "Dear Heartbroken in Hollow Bastion…"

* * *

><p>Those damn punks.<p>

Cloud glared at the wall opposite him as the phone rang in his ear. Roxas had better pick up his phone otherwise—

"Hello?"

"Where is it?" he growled.

"Where's what?"

"You know what."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Cloud."

He breathed deeply in an effort to subdue the anger steadily building up in his chest. "Where. The hell. Is. It?"

"I told you." The fake innocence coating Roxas' words grated on Cloud's nerves and shredded the little patience he had. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Who're you talking to, Roxas?" a far-off voice asked from Roxas' end.

"It's Uncle Cloud. You wanna say hi?"

Cloud tensed. "Roxas, don't—"

"Hi Uncle Cloud."

His threat died on his tongue. He stifled a sigh before responding as calmly as he could, "H-Hi Imani."

"What're you doing?" the girl asked.

"I'm…eating pizza," he lied.

"Oh. Do you like my mommy?"

Her sudden question caught him off guard. He took a moment to breathe and smooth out his voice. "I do."

"Would you marry her?"

His knees nearly gave out under him. "What?"

"Would you marry my mommy?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"I don't like the man she's having dinner with," Imani answered without missing a beat. "I'd rather have you as my new dad."

Cloud's heart stopped. Tifa was on a date? With who? And _why?_

"Hello? Uncle Cloud?"

"Can you put Roxas back on the phone?" he managed to ask.

"Okay. Bye, Uncle Cloud." The phone rustled as she passed it back to Roxas.

"Hey."

"For the last time, where is it?"

"It's where it's supposed to be, of course."

"She has it now?"

"I witnessed it being handed to her personally. Don't worry, we didn't tamper with it."

Meaning they hadn't signed his name for him. At least he'd remained anonymous…but was that a good thing? What good would a random unsigned letter do? Would she even pay the letter any mind if she was out having dinner with strangers?

Either way, the situation was pretty messed up. This would be the last time he took any suggestions from Dream-Zack.

The tension evaporated from his limbs as he deflated. "You and Sora are dead meat when you get back home."

"Jeez. Is it that hard to say thank you?"

* * *

><p>"Imani, dinner's ready," Tifa called as she scooped a bowlful of stew for each of them. She heard the light pattering of Imani's footsteps as the girl entered the kitchen and turned to her with a smile. "I hope you're hungry—"<p>

She froze. Imani was holding a very familiar piece of paper.

"Mommy," she held up the letter, "can we go see this man?"

With a sigh, Tifa set the ladle down and shook her head. "No, honey. It isn't safe to meet strangers."

Imani frowned. "But you had dinner with that weird man."

Which didn't go over so well since all she could think about that night were the words written to her, but no one needed to hear about that, especially not a six-year-old.

Tifa held her hand out. "Give me the letter."

"No." Imani hid the letter behind her back and stepped away. "I like this letter. I like him."

"We're not going to see him."

"Why not?"

"Imani, do you even know his name? Do you know what he looks like?"

"No, but—"

"Then how are we supposed to know who he is? The guy could be dangerous for all we know."

"But—"

"Stop, Imani." She reached around the girl and pried the letter from her hands. "This discussion is over. Come sit down and eat."

The girl opened her mouth to protest, but the look Tifa sent her stopped her. Imani dragged her feet to the table with her head hanging.

Tifa sighed, crumpling the letter into a ball and tossing it in the wastebasket. She shouldn't have kept it. She should've thrown it out immediately after reading it that night in her car. There was no use in keeping it…even if the simple, straightforward way it was written caught her attention and reminded her of a certain someone.

No, it was just a letter from a stranger. Nothing worthwhile for her and Imani could possibly come of it, especially since no one had even signed the darn thing.

* * *

><p>Sora nudged his shoulder and leaned against the counter next to him. "Why're you still here? Shouldn't you be at the fountain?"<p>

Cloud arched an eyebrow at him. Why would he be there?

"You're supposed to meet with Teef there, remember?" Sora sighed, crossing his arms. "You wrote that in your letter."

Cloud mimicked Sora and crossed his arms as well. He wasn't going.

"Why not? You can't stand up _Teef_."

No one would get stood up because Tifa wasn't going to be there in the first place. He was sure of it.

"There isn't a single romantic bone in your body, is there? Come on, Cloud. Don't you like Teef?"

Of course he did. She was one of his closest friends…and then some.

"Why won't you take a chance on her? If you don't, you'll regret it for the rest of your life when she marries some creep she met through Facebook."

He did take a chance…kind of. He actually wrote that stupid letter, didn't he? Damn Dream-Zack.

Sora stared him down for a good ten seconds before sighing. "Well, Rox and I going to go to the fountain. Y'know, to do recon. We'll see you later." He walked past Cloud and headed for the door.

Cloud didn't move to follow, but he let his arms fall to his sides. What was he supposed to do? Even if by some weird chance they both showed up at the fountain, what would Tifa think when she saw him there? She knew he was hardly father material. It was a miracle Sora and Roxas turned out okay, and they weren't even his kids.

He couldn't ever measure up to Zack, anyway. Zack had been on a completely different playing field as far as being a family man went. Zack had that open and clear communication thing down and he knew how to bring out the brightest smiles from Imani.

"Teef."

The mention of her name ripped him from his thoughts.

"Imani's gone missing."

Her voice was laced with worry. He felt his heart stop and his instincts sharpen. Imani was missing?

"What? Since when?"

"Since a few hours ago. I think she snuck out of the house."

"Did something happen?"

"She…She seemed a little upset because of some letter I'd gotten…"

Letter? As in, perhaps…_his_ letter?

Dread welled up in his gut. He pushed himself off the counter and strode into the living room where Roxas, Sora, and Tifa huddled together. The three of them turned to look at him. "I think I know where she is," Cloud told Tifa.

* * *

><p>Relief washed over her when she spotted a tiny figure sitting on the edge of the fountain. She ran across the courtyard. "Imani!"<p>

The girl looked up with wide eyes. "Mommy…"

"Thank God you're alright." She threw her arms around Imani and buried her face in her hair. "I was so worried about you!"

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to yell at you. I love you so much."

"I love you, too."

"You're my whole world, Imani." She ran her fingers through Imani's hair. "You're all I have. I know we're not much, but we're still okay, right? We're doing okay, right? We're not completely ruined, are we?"

"We're okay."

"Don't you ever run out on me like that again, you hear?"

"Okay."

Tifa sighed, glancing over her shoulder at the three guys who'd trailed behind her. Sora and Roxas breathed their own sighs of relief, shaking their heads with smiles.

Cloud, on the other hand, seemed to shrink a little. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Tifa blinked in confusion. "For what? You helped me find her."

He reached up to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't think she'd run out on her own because of my letter."

His letter…?

Realization dawned on her face and her heart stopped. "You…"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. Me."

She could hardly breathe. _Cloud_ had sent that letter? He was the one who wrote those things? Did he really mean the things he'd written?

She felt Imani pull away from her embrace to look at Cloud. "Are you going to be my new dad?" she asked.

Cloud shrugged with one shoulder. "I'm not sure yet. Would that be okay with you?"

Imani nodded immediately. "Yeah."

"Well," he glanced at Tifa, "we'd have to check with your mom first."

The girl whirled around, clasping her hands in front of her. "Can he be my new dad? Please?"

She clamped her gaping mouth shut and cleared her throat. "W-We'll see. Let's take things one step at a time, okay?"

"But—"

"Don't worry, Imani." Sora came to their side and patted her head. "Roxas and I will make sure things work out."

Roxas nodded, eyeing Tifa with a knowing look. "Yeah. We're going to be family no matter what."

Imani's worried brow smoothed over and she smiled. "Okay."

"Cool. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"You're always starving."

"Shush, you. Imani, you wanna eat pizza with us?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay!" Sora knelt down in front of her. "All aboard the Pizza Express!"

Imani climbed onto his back and he lifted her up and started running across the courtyard. Roxas jogged after them, yelling after Sora about not dropping the girl.

Tifa watched them wander farther away before standing up. She looked at Cloud. "It's really you."

"It's really me." He ducked his head. "Is that okay?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

A corner of his mouth curved into a smile of his own. "Good."

"Cloud! Tifa! Come on! We're starving!"

He held out his hand. "Shall we?"

Her heart fluttered as she carefully placed her hand in his.

* * *

><p><em>The Beginning.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Afterthought: <strong>It's been a while since I last wrote a one-shot. How'd it turn out? It also felt kind of weird writing Imani as a six-year-old, but I hope the story was enjoyable for you. There are some _Sleepless in Seattle_ references sprinkled throughout, too. (Again, if you haven't seen the movie yet, please watch it! It'll make you feel all that gooey romantic stuff like your stomach turning to mush and your heart growing warm! Who doesn't enjoy that?)

Thank you for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Happy holidays!


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